Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi uses Ishrat Jahan case to target Sonia, Rahul

Rampur (UP): Raking up Ishrat Jahan case, Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Thursday targeted Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi while alleging that the party is being seen as "pro-terrorism" after the "real face" of the girl killed in a Gujarat encounter has been "exposed".

He singled out former Home Minister P Chidambaram, alleging that he had done the "sinful" act by "changing" his own ministry's affidavit to "present a terrorist as a nationalist".

Targeting Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, Naqvi said they had projected "terrorist" Ishrat Jahan as an innocent person to defame the then Gujarat government headed by Narendra Modi.

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. AFP

"Now when Ishrat's real face has been exposed, these leaders of Congress are not exhibiting the courage to apologize for their negativities," the Minister of State for Minority Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs said addressing public meetings in Rampur.

His remarks came against the backdrop of a fresh contention which said that the second affidavit of the Home Ministry given to Supreme Court in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case had been changed to portray her as innocent and not a terrorist.

"Is it not a shame that a Home Minister of that (UPA) era changed his own affidavit to present a terrorist as a nationalist? It is really surprising that present leadership of the (Congress) party has been placing a white carpet on the sinful, black deeds of the then Home Minister," Naqvi said.

"It can easily be said that Congress has been an industry of sins... They (Congress) are being recognized as pro-terrorism," the BJP leader alleged.

He also referred to Samjhauta Express blast and said, "it was Sonia–Rahul's Congress which had termed it as Saffron terrorism' and very disgracefully presented the issue to Pakistan to make that a tool to defame and launch blistering attacks against India."

Talking about drought, the Union minister said the central government was determined to give maximum assistance to the drought-hit states "but we expect that they would not be found wanting on maximum utilization of those finances."

He said through the Modi government's 'Green India' programme, the farmers might become self sufficient in facing such calamities like drought.

For fulfillment of that purpose, the central government would provide Rs 80 lack to each Gram Sabha.